I had not traveled that much that year until then. At the beginning of September, I saw that Epica - my favorite band - was still selling tickets for their The Symphonic Synergy show in Amsterdam. So I spontaneously decided to take the FlixBus to the Netherlands.

A slightly slanted building in Amsterdam A house with beautiful window shutters

I arrived in Amsterdam Sloterdijk on Thursday morning and went for a lengthy walk through the city, over all the canals and past the beautiful buildings that were built centuries ago.

A flowerpot on a street lamp One of the first things I noticed in Amsterdam was the flowers. They were everywhere along the Brouwersgracht and later the Prinsengracht. There are several flower boxes on every bridge, on every window and also on some street lamps and traffic signs. This gave the city a nice touch.

Epica's show Epica on stage with their logo prominently shown in the background

In the evening I then saw Epica’s show at the AFAS Live. It was fantastic! The whole show lasted about 2 hours and 15 minutes and the band, orchestra, and all choirs gave a great performance.

View on a street in Utrecht A channel in Utrecht

On Friday morning, I first took an Intercity train to Utrecht. Utrecht is one of the oldest cities in the Netherlands with a long and important history. There are many beautiful streets with old buildings. Apart from a few places in the center, the city was not as crowded with tourists as Amsterdam.

The Erasmusbrug in Rotterdam

In the second half of Friday, I continued my journey on the Intercity to Rotterdam. There I first explored some of the usual sights, such as the Erasmusbrug or …

The inside of the Markthal in Rotterdam The habour of Rotterdam

… the beautiful Markthal and the harbor. Even with the view from the Euromast, I couldn’t quite grasp how large the harbor actually is.

Skaters in Rotterdam A street festival in Rotterdam with a few people dancing to music

On my evening walk through Rotterdam, the city seemed so vibrant. People were having fun on the streets everywhere. Finally, on the way to a bar, I stumbled across a small street party and decided to stay there.

A windmill with the flag of the Netherlands in front of it Two windmills

Multiple windmills on the horizon Several old houses on the shore

When visiting the Netherlands, seeing the windmills was, of course, a must. So on my last day, I traveled to Zaanse Schans. Even on the train ride, it was clear that this was a tourist hotspot, as it was the only station that was announced in English. Nevertheless, despite the many tourists, you could walk around the place relatively undisturbed.

A police van in front of multiple tents A trailer from the Technisches Hilfswerk with a lightmast in front of a FlixBus

On Saturday evening, I took a night bus back to Germany. Unfortunately, we were held up for about 45 to 60 minutes at a police checkpoint near the border. Thanks for that. Traveling the European Union without restrictions was nice while it lasted.